Busy

Recent days have been a flurry of activity around the world. Cable news delivers “breaking news” every two minutes, complete with dramatic music and menacing graphics, specifically designed to increase our heart rate and raise our blood pressure, creating a sense of urgency in viewers and triggering panic in the streets. Grocery stores, gas stations, and pharmacies have all been inundated with a flood of activity as shoppers rushed to grab whatever remaining items they could find. Shamefully, some of these encounters led to conflict amongst shoppers as people literally fought over toilet paper. Had this been a Saturday night at Toomer’s Corner in Auburn after a win instead of a Woolworth’s aisle in Sydney during a pandemic, strangers would have shared rolls of toiler paper to throw into the trees in celebration, but in times of uncertainty and fear social pleasantries are the first thing to evaporate.

Perhaps mercifully, all across the world leaders have urged citizens to reduce public activity and stay home as much as possible. “Social distancing” is the newest phrase to enter our vernacular. Schools and businesses are closing, restaurants have shifted to drive-thru and take out only, and even churches have adjusted how they normally assemble in an effort to slow down the spread of this virus. While it is true that this global “slow down” has left a number of new problems in its wake (childcare for those who can’t just take off work, loss of income for those who live paycheck to paycheck, dramatic losses in stock values, etc), there are also blessings to be found if we will take the time to look for them.

Almost everyone I know says they are “too busy.” Work, school, soccer, church commitments, school functions, and on and on and on. We all have a phone in our pocket and yet we don’t want anyone to call us on it. “I don’t have time to talk on the phone, just text me,” we say. We are too busy to sit down at the table and eat dinner with our families. We are too busy to study our Bibles. We are too busy to pray. We are too busy to check on folks that we know need a little help or attention. We are too busy to even do the things we enjoy that bring us peace and fulfillment. Most retired folks I talk to tell me that they are busier now than when they were working full time. We are all too busy. Not anymore, at least not for a few weeks, if not months.

We are not the first people to have our lives disrupted and made more difficult. Jeremiah 29 is a letter to the surviving children of Israel in Babylonian exile. Their lives have been disrupted, calamity has befallen them, they are suffering and scared and God comes to them through the prophet to say “seek me.” Jeremiah tells God’s people to go about doing what God’s people were created to do: love and serve God by loving and serving your neighbor in His name and to His glory. He tells them to “seek peace” and “pray” for the prosperity of the city they were dwelling in (v.7), “don’t listen to the liars and deceivers” (v.8-9), and He assures them that things will eventually “get back to normal” (v.10). Their greatest need was not to rebuild the city of Jerusalem and restore their lives to normal, but to begin “seeking the Lord” (v.13).

In the midst of this present time of uncertainty and change, God comes to us through the psalmist and says, “Be still and know that I am the LORD” (Psalm 46:10). This verse wasn’t written for calm and quiet Sunday mornings while sipping coffee, but in a time of war and trouble in Israel. This verse is meant to direct our memories to the Hebrew refugees fleeing genocide at the hands of the Egyptians, only to find themselves trapped between the army of Pharaoh and an impassable sea. It was in this time of hopelessness and terror that Moses declared to them, “Fear ye not, stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD” (Exodus 14:13). Perhaps this is what we need to hear right now, and even more, what we need to do right now. As the world slows down for awhile in an effort to slow down the spread of this virus, why don’t we all commit to “being still” so that we can seek the Lord. Seek Him through His word and seek Him in prayer. You may not personally be able to stop this virus or speed up the time it will take for things to get back to normal, but you have complete control over whether or not you will seek Him. Ask Him today, and everyday, to “give us this day our daily bread” and “deliver us from evil” (Matthew 6:11,13).

The storms of life have a way of washing away the temporary and worthless things we use to decorate, fill, and busy our lives with, leaving the true condition of our hearts exposed. Perhaps what we find is that our lives were built upon the sand. Even if this is the case, all is not lost. We have an opportunity to hear the words of Jesus and do them and rebuild our lives upon the Rock (Matthew 7:24). James, the younger brother of Jesus, tells us not to lie to ourselves by being hearers of His word but not doers (James 1:22). Seek Him, and then show Him to others. "Love your neighbor as yourself” (Mark 12:31), “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith” (Galatians 6:9-10).

Burdens can become blessings if we bring them to the Lord. Use this time to do that deep dive Bible study you’ve been wanting to do. Spend the extra time in prayer, “cast all your anxieties upon Him because He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:7). Even if it isn’t wise to make in home visits, call up those you know who might need help getting groceries or medicines, or those who might just appreciate a conversation over the phone to remind them that they have people who are thinking about them. Spend time with the people you love in family worship, drawing nearer to Him and one another.

Christian, you are the light of the world (Matthew 5:14), and you can reflect His light most brightly in the darkest of times. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure. Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life” (Philippians 2:13-16).